Global flows of government practices: development technologies and their effects

Abstract

This article discusses certain technologies with which government practices are diffused on a global scale and some of the effects of this process. Using Foucault as a main source of inspiration, the circulation of know-how and capital are seen as the principal means by which government practices are irradiated. By analyzing social techniques such as projects, programs, conditionalities, documents, international laws and others, I argue that these are fundamental conduits for devising and reproducing the global order. In a second moment, I approach some of the outcomes of developmental practices in processes of state building and other political dynamics among recipients and donor countries. I stress some of the political, economic and social impacts of local appropriations of development actions. Of these, I emphasize those related to capacity building and what I call the misrecognition effect. The final remarks propose an articulated perspective on government practices that are shaped by diverse strategies.

Antropologia multissituada e a questão da escala: reflexões com base no estudo da cooperação sul-sul brasileira

“…3 Na antropologia do desenvolvimento, a literatura mais teórica tem se baseado quase inteiramente na experiência empírica de organismos multilaterais e doadores do chamado norte global. As principais propostas têm ido no sentido de perspectivas foucaultianas enfatizando noções de discurso, governamentalidade e tecnologias de governo (por exemplo, Escobar, 2001;Ferguson, 1994;Li, 2007;Silva, 2012), e abordagens centradas-nos-atores destacando noções de redes, mediadores e projetos (por exemplo, Bierschenk; Chauveneau; Olivier de Sardan, 2000; Mosse, 2005; Letícia Cesarino Mosse, 2006;Rottenburg, 2009). Essas e outras correntes recortam analiticamente (ou, como se diz com frequência, reduzem) realidades que sempre parecem mais complexas quando vistas da escala do trabalho de campo.…”